7x7
by Ashana
Summary: Once upon a time, humans had magic. They used it to defeat and seal away the monsters at the end of the war. That was years ago, however, and the knowledge has faded from most, as humanity moved on to embrace technology instead. The seeds remain, however, and two descendants of the seven sages who first locked the monsters away are about to get a crash course in just what
1. Chapter 1

**7x7**

 **Chapter 1: Just Stories**

Frisk knew she would be in trouble if she fell asleep – the last time that had happened, her grandfather had whacked her over the calves with his walking stick, and she'd ended up with two big, ugly bruises the next day. That knowledge did little to keep he head from bobbing, however, and she had to prop her chin up on one fist to keep from face-planting into the kitchen table. She bit down on her tongue, trying to wake herself up before grandpa turned around and realized he had completely lost her.

Carefully, Frisk tilted her head to the side and squinted at her only classmate. Her cousin, who was six years older than her yet still expected to attend these after-school lessons three times a week with their deranged grandfather, had long sense perfected the act of paying attention while completely zoning out. Her dark brown eyes, similar to Frisk's own, were slightly out of focus and glassy, but they still managed to trace their grandfather's movements as he waved his arms around at the chalkboard drilled to the kitchen wall.

Frisk and her cousin had come to live with their grandfather several years before, after their parents had been killed while carpooling to a concert. Neither had been happy since – grandfather was a tough old man who'd been raised with the rod and had no interest in sparing it. Frisk, being younger, had managed to avoid the worst of it. Her cousin had a habit of stepping up and accepting blame, and taking the licks their grandfather served out. Frisk was left to mop up the mess – she had long sense gotten used to seeing blood, and her cousin often joked that she should be a nurse when they were grown and away from home.

"Kendra!" Frisk nearly jumped out of her seat, but her cousin barely moved. Her eyes focused on their grandfather, who was glaring at them with his hands on his hips. He pointed to the bulletin board tacked up beside the blackboard. "Where were the monsters forced into the Underground?"

"Mount Ebott."

Grandfather slammed his palm down on the table, making it shake. Frisk flinched back as it jarred her elbows, but Kendra kept her eyes on him, unmoving. "You _know_ I expect more details than that!"

Still, the fifteen-year-old kept her cool. "The monsters were forced through a magical entrance into the Underground at the east side of the base of Mount Ebott. They were then sealed inside by the Seven Sages, who created a barrier that would be impossible to break."

Grandfather swung around to point at Frisk, who mentally cringed. "Why is it impossible?" He demanded.

"B-because to break it t-they – the monsters would need seven human souls, a-a-and no humans could get d-down into there?"

"Is that an answer or a question?" Grandfather demanded.

"A-an answer." Frisk swallowed, giving a definite nod. To her ever-lasting relief, Grandfather smiled.

"Good. Both of you are correct." He turned back to the board and began to clean it off. "That is enough for lessons today. I want you both to go spend some time outside – it's a beautiful day out." He motioned to the screen door that went from the kitchen to the backyard. "Do not go into the woods – you know the rules."

"Yes, grandfather. Thank you for the lesson." Both girls intoned as they stood, all too eager to be away from his oppressive presence. They stacked their books and notes neatly on the table, then made it out the door as fast as possible. As soon as they were out of the house, the two sprinted across the yard and collapsed beneath the biggest tree at the edge of the yard.

"Why does he make us do that?" Frisk groaned, staring up at the leafy green branches above them.

"Because," Kendra looked at her little cousin with an amused smile, and deepened her voice, "You are the seventh generation of the seventh sage and his magic runs in your veins." She stood and put her hands behind her back, standing very stiffly and emulating Grandfathers posture. "Were the monsters to come back, you would be the only things to defend humanity from their wrath! I will not leave the world in the hands of two lazy lay-a-bouts with no concept of how the magic in this world works!" She stomped around a bit, harrumphing and squinting one eye like Grandfather did when he was angry. Frisk fell to the grass, rolling around and clutching her stomach as she giggled like a fool. "Now, you just wave your wand like this," she grabbed a stick off the floor and waved it at Frisk and yelled, "Hibbity jibbity!"

The nine-year-old had fat tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks. "Oh my gosh, Kendra, stop! My stomach hurts!" She was still giggling as her cousin plopped down beside her, grinning. She poked Frisk with the stick.

"So, you feel any of your 'magical abilities' stirring yet?"

"No. You get your Hogwarts letter yet?"

Kendra flushed, but a grin kept her from looking too embarrassed. "Oh c'mon, I was _eleven_ and Grandfather told me I'd get magic! Of course I was waiting for an owl to arrive with my letter."

"Well, I've still got two years until mine does." Frisk began tugging up blades of grass and shredding them with her nails, her gaze turning thoughtful. "So…you've never felt this 'magic' that Grandfather is always talking about?"

"Nah. Don't worry about it, though. In three years I'll be eighteen, and we'll both be able to move away and forget about all this magical seven-of-seven mumbo jumbo."

Frisk moved to sit by her cousin and leaned against her. "Can we go somewhere with lots of snow? I love snow."

Kendra laughed, hugging the child to her side. "Of course. We'll move to the snowiest place in the world!"

* * *

Things did not become unbearable until late October. The cousins still attended their grandfather's lessons, listening politely but absently as he rambled about the monstrosities that were supposedly trapped beneath the dirt. It was nearing Halloween, their grandfathers favorite time to ramble about the terrible, awful, ungodly things the monsters did that caused the humans to turn on them and force them underground.

It was during one such rant that he brought out a picture depicting hellish creatures – bats, wolves, fanged skeletons and red-eyed goats – raping and tearing apart and series of scantily-clad women. He went off on a rant, yelling in detail about what they would do to both Kendra and Frisk if the monsters ever resurfaced. Kendra, who had heard it all before, began to zone out, but a whimper caught her attention.

Frisk – sweet, innocent, would never even think of harming a fly Frisk – was clutching the edge of the table, her face as white as a sheet of paper. Her eyes were wide (which was an odd thing for the girl who liked to squint at everything, normally because her smile was too big for her face), and she was shaking from head to toe.

"ENOUGH!"

Kendra stood up fast enough that she knocked over her chair. Her bellow silenced and stilled both her Grandfather and cousin.

"Frisk, go to your room." The teen demanded, silencing the child with a glare when she went to protest. "Now."

The girl scrambled from the room, though she stopped at the top of the stairs, still able to clearly hear the row.

Kendra, unintimidated by her grandfather's glare, reached out and snatched the paper from his hands, tearing it in half. "What is _wrong_ with you? Frisk is _nine_! Why the HELL would you show this to her, and then wax poetic about it!" She crumpled the paper in her fists and threw it to the table. "I mean, my god, I knew you were twisted but I didn't realize you were such a perverted sadist!"

"Kendra Aminah Hayward!" Grandfather sounded absolutely _scandalized_ at what she was seeing. "You be qui-"

"NO! I'm not going to be bloody quiet anymore! I'm _tired_ of this monster bullshit! It's not real! _None_ of it is real!" She stormed around the table and grabbed some of the papers from the bulletin board, ripping them down. "Don't you get it? I'm done humoring you! And so is Frisk!" She moved to stand toe-to-toe with the taller, heavier man. "No more lessons. No more lies. No more of _that_ ," she pointed to the destroyed picture on the table. "No more _monsters_."

* * *

A few hours later, Kendra told a sobbing Frisk that it was okay – it didn't hurt _that_ bad. She'd gotten the belt before, and it wasn't nearly as bad as the cane. That had just made the child cry harder as she helped clean her older cousins face, which was bruising and slightly puffy – Kendra guessed from a broken occipital bone, but wasn't about to tell her little cousin that.

"Frisk," Kendra stopped her cousin's ministrations, "do you want to disappear for a few nights? We haven't gone on a 'camping trip' in a bit."

The child wiped at her eyes but nodded. Their form of camping didn't exactly fit a normal family's views – they would pack up some food, sleeping bags, and a blanket or two, then leave a note for the grandfather about feeling the call of magic and following it so they could get in touch with their inner 'magical powers' and disappear into the woods for a few days. It was the only reprieve they had from the man, and as long as they spouted a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about being more spiritually connected to the world afterwards, he didn't mind.

"Can we go to Mount Ebott?" Frisk asked hopefully. The two had never been – their grandfather expressly forbade it.

Then again, as Kendra felt her sore face and viewed the bruises on her arms, she didn't really give a damn what he wanted anymore.

"Yeah. I heard _him_ go to bed an hour or so ago – you go downstairs and get food. I'll get our bags." Kendra stood on admittedly shaky legs and gave her cousin an encouraging smile. "Be quiet as a mouse, just like always, okay?"

"Okay!" Frisk put a finger to her lips and crept from the room, moving silently past their grandfather's room and downstairs. Kendra shook her head with a smile, immediately stopped when it began to hurt, and got off the bed. Everything was sore, but a few pills from a bottle of pain killers hidden in her nightstand would keep her going through the night.

* * *

A cab was able to take them a good way up Mount Ebott, dropping them off at a popular campground half-way to the peak, much to Kendra's relief. She had to hand over a good chunk of her allowance to pay for it, but skipping the cross-town bus and the steeper part of the mountain was worth it. The cabbie, after seeing their bags and Kendra's face, sped off without a tip but an honest 'good luck' that made her feel a bit better. So, using flashlights and holding hands, the two headed up the mountain.

Despite it being nearly midnight, Frisk was ecstatic to be hiking up the forbidden mountain. She constantly released Kendra's hand to run ahead, commenting on the trees and plants that littered the slopes. The teen plodded after her, seeing no reason to panic as long as she could see Frisk's flashlight bobbing through the foliage ahead. After nearly a half-hour of working their way through the plants, with no true plan except going upward, Frisk found the steps.

They were carved stone, overgrown with years of vines and fallen leaves, obviously abandoned long ago. She dragged Kendra to them, excitedly asking why and how the steps were there, and who had made them. Kendra had shrugged and mumbled something about tourism and hiking trails. Frisk, ever cheerful and trusting, had left it at that and charged ahead. Kendra followed, her sore body glad for the straightforward path – she'd been getting really tired of tripping over tree branches.

"Hey, there's a cave up here!" Frisk re-appeared further along the path, face shining in the beam of the flashlights. "This is _so cool_ , Ken! C'mon, you've gotta see this! There's, like, carvings on the wall and stuff!" She disappeared again, and Kendra picked up her pace, slightly concerned. She'd done a ton of research on the mountain at her Grandfathers instructions, and nothing she'd found had ever mentioned a cave near the summit…

There was a cave, the entrance covered with hanging vines and broken branches, hidden from first sight by the elements. Frisk bounced at the entrance, using her flashlight to peer inside. "C'mon, Kendra! We can camp here – grandfather will never find us!"

"Sounds like a plan." Kendra ruffled her cousin's hair and ducked through the entrance, eyes trained on the walls. There did appear to be carvings of some kind, but they'd been worn down by time and were hard to pick out. She ran her hands over the bumps, grinning at what looked like depictions of dinosaurs and skeletons. "Huh, must have been some kids up here having fun a while back." She laughed at a goat-monsters-thing that had been drawn. "Weird."

"I think they're cute!" Frisk moved farther into the cave, a bright smile on their face as they looked at the wall carvings. "Hey look, here's an arrow! And another one!" The girl – ever bright and curious, began to follow the line of arrows down the wall. "Huh, they were pointing in, but now they're starting to point down…"

Kendra followed close behind her cousin, squinting at the crudely carved arrows. "Maybe there's a second part of the cave? Sometimes caves will have rooms, y'know."

"Yeah! We should go look for it!" Frisk turned and took a few steps past the down-facing arrow, then with a scream vanished from sight entirely.

"FRISK!" Kendra rushed after her cousin, flashlight bouncing, and immediately saw what had happened – the cave floor ended in a large hole, extending who-knows-how-far into the earth. The teen tripped over her own feet trying to stop at the edge, and went tumbling into the darkness after her cousin.

And somewhere in the timeline, karma was satisfied.

* * *

 **AN: Undertale has become my favorite video game, and after spending nearly a week binge-reading all the fanfics I could get my hands on after playing through several resets, I had to wonder, what happened to the seven sages? Humans had magic, but...what happened to it? So, here's a silly little fic I'm gonna play around with to try and find out!**

 **I hit major writers block on my FNaF's stories, but I will work on those as well, promise!**

 **Please review if you like it! Reviews will be loved and cuddled and fed Temmi flakes!**


	2. Flowey and Toriel

**Chapter 2: Flowey and Toriel**

In his centuries as the unofficial 'greeter' to the Underground, Flowey had never seen two humans fall at once. Oh, they'd had scores of human fall into the pit, though most had bloodied the golden flowers when they landed, necks broken or weak bodies damaged by the fall. There had always been just one, however – the people who explored the cave inevitably did so alone, and fell to their deaths with no one the wiser. Others who survived the fall moved on, only to die in the Ruins or Snowdin Forest or Waterfall. Few reached Hotland, and fewer still made it to the capital and Asgore. Only six humans – all children – had made it that far, and Flowey had watched as they were killed and their souls stored for the day when Asgore could use them to break the barrier. But all of those had made the journey alone.

But here was an exception to the rule – a little human and a big – well not _big_ , maybe medium-sized human – both unconscious in the bed of flowers Queen Toriel had planted there long ago. Flowey circled the patch curiously, his roots sliding smoothly through the soil like it was no more than water. Both humans had brown hair, but the medium-humans was longer, and the little humans was short and choppy looking. They had tanned skin, and were covered in cuts and bruises from the fall, though it seemed medium-human had taken the brunt of it. There was blood on their shirt and in their hair. Little human was practically unscathed in comparison.

As though feeling his eyes on her, the little human began to stir. Flowey disappeared beneath the ground with a pop and returned to his place in the next room, brain churning. Just _how_ would having _two_ of them here change the normal, boring dance he had grown used to whenever a human arrived? For the first time in a long time, Flowey was excited to see just how things would turn out.

* * *

Frisk woke with a jolt, sitting straight up in the flower bed, petals falling from her hair as she looked around wildly for _whatever_ had been looking at her. She was sure she'd felt eyes on her – unfriendly eyes, at that. There was nothing aside from a bed of buttercups, two slightly-torn backpacks, and an unconscious older cousin. She looked around once more, making sure nothing was lurking in the shadows, before turning to tend to her cousin.

She shook Kendra's shoulder until the teen groaned and opened her eyes, which were clouded with pain and confusion. The child watched as her cousin blinked at the pit that surrounded them, then groan and throw an arm over their eyes.

"Well fuck."

Frisk supposed that was as good a summary for their situation as anything.

"So, kiddo, what're you betting?" Kendra peeked at Frisk. "We in Heaven or Hell?"

"I don't think we're dead," Frisk muttered, head tilted and lips in a pout as she thought. Kendra pushed herself up with a groan, taking stock of her injuries as she dragged her backpack to her side. It seemed to have held up pretty well despite the fall.

"Kid," Kendra shoved a bottle of water into Frisks hand before uncapping her own and taking a swig, "That was at least a hundred yards, if not more. Humans just _don't_ survive that kind of fall."

"But we're not human!" Frisk insisted, watching Kendra take another drink. "We're _magic_!" She did little jazz hands at the word, grinning widely when her cousin choked on the water.

"You're right," Kendra coughed, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "We're the seventh gen of the seventh sage. We can survive anything." She ruffled Frisks hair. "So, my little magus, now what?"

Frisk ducked out from beneath the playful fingers and looked around. Her flashlight was lying a few feet away on the rock floor, the light flickering weakly through a broken lens. She got up and grabbed it, bouncing the light around the room. Rock wall…rock wall…mud…flowers…vines…doorway…carved columns…wait, what?

"Look! There's a doorway here." Frisk moved away from the bed of flowers, staring in awe at the columns, which had been carved from the stone wall itself. "These must be, like, ruins or something! I bet there's a way out through here."

Kendra found her own flashlight and stood on unsteady legs, squinting at the doorway cautiously. "I dunno," she muttered, "It seems a little too… _convenient_."

Frisk ran back to the flower patch and grabbed her backpack, swinging it over her shoulder. "Well there's nothing else we can do," the girl pointed out, face flushed in excitement. Kendra sighed and pulled her own backpack on.

"Fair point. Lead the way, kiddo." She rested a hand on Frisk's shoulder and followed her into the next room, only to nearly knock her over when Frisk froze in place.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"

A talking…moving… _smiling_ …flower.

"Hmm, you're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?"

Its head was about the size of a dinner plate, though the yellow petals made it seem bigger. It's leaves swung and twitched like hands would as it spoke, dark eyes never leaving the two girls as they stared.

"Golly, you must be so confused!"

If Kendra weren't seriously considering her 'we're in Hell' hypothesis right then, she would have snorted at the obviousness of the statement.

"Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!"

Frisk went ramrod straight at Flowey's words, and Kendra tightened her grip and pulled the girl back against her. Their grandfather had often said that right before delivering an undeserved smack, insisting they needed to learn how things worked around his home.

Flowey noticed the movement, his eyes squinting ever so slightly, as he continued his spiel. "I guess little old me will have to do." He winked. "Ready? Here we go!"

The world tilted sickeningly beneath their feet, and both girls gasped as they felt _something_ tugging at their chests. Frisk moved to stand beside Kendra instead of in front of her, hands grabbing at the front of her sweater as the feeling intensified. Kendra wanted to double over in pain, but just as the feeling was getting worse, it disappeared. With an odd pop, two valentine-esque hearts appeared, floating in front of the two.

The one before Frisk was a bright, fiery red that flickered at the edge and seemed to bounce a bit in place, as though it were excited and eager and curious to explore. Frisk gazed at it in awe, mouth agape as she reached up to cup the little heart in her hands. The colors flared, and the child giggled at the warmth that flooded her.

The one before Kendra, on the other hand, was gray. There were a few cracks along the edges of it, and instead of vibrating in place like Fisk's, it simply floated, content to be where it was. Copying her cousin, she cupped it in her hands, and felt a small amount of comfort settle in her heart.

"That is your SOUL." Flowey explained, watching as Frisk delighted over her bright heart. He glanced over at Kendra, and his odd eyebrows bunched in confusion at the sight of the gray soul. "It's the very culmination of your being."

Frisk gasped at that, tightening her hold ever-so-slightly. Her soul fluttered like a captured bird before settling down, pulsing happily within her hands. Kendra was less concerned with her quiet little soul and more worried about the look the flower had. She was getting bad vibes from it – _really_ bad vibes.

"Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What's LV stand for? Why, _LOVE_ of course!" The flower winked. "You want some love, don't you?" Frisk, caught up in the explanation, nodded eagerly. "Don't worry, I'll share some with you! Down here, love is shared through little, white, _friendliness pellets_." Around the flowers head appeared a series of small, shimmering balls, which spun in place as he grinned at them. "Are you ready?" Without waiting for an answer, the balls began to move towards them. "Move around, get as many as you can!"

"Frisk-" Kendra reached out to grab her cousins arm, but the child had already darted forward and was reaching up to grab one of the balls. "No, wait! Don't!" She lunged forward, intent on snatching Frisk away from what she was _sure_ wasn't a 'friendliness pellet', but instead she landed face first in the dirt. A root – thick and wriggling, the same shade of green as Flowey's stem – had popped out of the ground and wrapped itself around her ankle.

Frisk turned at her cousin's yelp, but her inattention did nothing to stop the pellet. It hit her on the shoulder, and the pain that flooded her SOUL at the touch made the child fall to her knees with a gasp. It was as though every nerve in her body had been brushed by fire. The sensation passed, but in her hands her soul wriggled and grew a bit dimmer.

"You _idiot_." Both girls looked to the flower, who's face had changed drastically. He was glaring now, a self-satisfied grin taking up most of his face. "In this world, it's _kill_ or _BE killed._ Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity to like this?!" A large ring of the white pellets surrounded the cousins, and Kendra swore angrily and tried to wiggle out of the vines grip so she could get to Frisk and protect them.

 _"DIE."_

Flowey the Demon Weed cackled as the bullets moved inward, and just as they were about to hit, Kendra grabbed Frisk's sleeve and tried to pull her closer, planning on shielding her from the bullets.

 _FWOOSH!_

Something warm and bright rushed overhead of the downed girls, striking Flowey the Bastard Bush right in the face. His psychotic laughter broke off as he was thrown from the soil, disappearing into the darkness of the chamber. Without them noticing, both Kendra and Frisk's souls disappeared back into their chests.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such poor, innocent youth." A soft, motherly voice settled over the two as they struggled to sit up. Frisk got to her knees first and looked for whoever had rescue them. There, standing in the odd light shaft a few feet away, was-

"AHHH! GOAT MONSTER!"

Kendra had just managed to start getting to her feet when Frisk tackled her, sending them both back into the tall grass. The medium-sized human managed to get up on her knees while the little one scrambled to crouch behind her, eyes wide and peering at the startled goat lady standing at the edge of the grass.

"Ah, do not be afraid, my child!" The goat gave them a nervous smile. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down."

Kendra pursed her lips as the goat spoke, though most of her focus was on the trembling form pressed against her back. "I – I'm Kendra, and this is Frisk." She motioned to her cousin, who was peeking out beneath her arm at the goat lady.

Toriel's mouth split into a smile, and she knelt down on one knee. "You are the first humans to come here in a long time," she kept her voice soft and gentle as she spoke. Nothing their hesitation, she held out her hand – paw? – and tilted her head to the side, floppy ears falling shifting around her soft face. "If you would like, I can show you the way out of the catacombs."

Frisk didn't know what a 'cat-a-comb' was, but Kendra, who had studied the French Revolution just a month ago, blanched at the thought of being in a mass graveyard. "That would be very nice, thank you." She said quickly, standing up and helping Frisk to do the same. Toriel rose to her full height, dwarfing the humans, though she didn't move any closer.

"This way." The goat turned and led them through another doorway with carved pillars. Before the two humans could move to follow, Frisk voiced what Kendra was dreading.

"Ken, do you think grandpa was right?" She asked softly, staring after Toriel. "Are monsters…real?"


End file.
